Located about 144 miles (232 kilometers) southeast
of Taylor as the crow flies or nearly 200 miles by car. North Canton is
located south of Cleveland between Akron and Canton.

How they got here: The Ohio state champions arrived
at the Junior League World Series with a 14-1 record. After going 8-0
against other Ohio teams and winning the state tournament, the North
Canton Junior Little League all-stars went 6-1 in the 11-team Central
regional tournament in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In pool play, they beat the
state champions of Michigan and Minnesota, plus the host team, and lost
to Iowa. With a fourth seed after pool play, Ohio ousted fifth-seeded
Wisconsin, first seeded Indiana in the semifinals and second-seeded
Kentucky in the finals, 22-3. this is the second straight year North
Canton is playing in Taylor, but all of the players and two-thirds of
the coaching staff is new to the World Series. Only Manager Jon Lucas
returns from last year’s team, which defeated Texas and lost three games
in the USA Pool. This is the seventh time a team from Ohio has played
in Taylor.

Located on Long Island, Franklin Square is 508 miles
(817 kilometers) east of Taylor as the crow flies or at least 625 miles
by car. It takes about 11 hours to drive from Franklin Square to
Taylor.

How they got here: Franklin Square arrived in Taylor
with a 14-1 record and had to defeat the defending USA East champs from
Johnston, Rhode Island, in a winner-takes-all game in the regional
finals in Freehold Township, New Jersey. Franklin Square went 10-0 en
route to the New York state championship. In the 10-team regional, the
all-stars defeated the state champions of Maine, Massachusetts and
Connecticut in double-elimination play, then waited for Rhode Island to
emerge from the losers bracket. Johnston won the first game, 19-9,
forcing a second game, which was won by New York, 10-8. This is the
fifth time a team from New York is playing in the JLWS, but the first
time for a team from Franklin Square.they ha, but that one loss made life more challenging for the Rhode Island state champions

Located along the Atlantic Ocean near Cape
Canaveril, Rockledge is 922 miles (1,564 kilometers) south of Taylor as
the crow flies and about 1,158 miles (more than 19 hours) by car.

How they got here: The Rockledge all-stars arrived
in Taylor with a 14-2 record, according to the affidavit presented ot
the World Series. They went 9-2 to become Florida state champions and
then defeated the state champions of Alabama Georgia, North Carolina,
Virginia and Tennessee for the USA Southeast regional title. In all,
eight state champs competed for the Southeast crown. Rockledge is
attempting to succeed the Palma Ceia/Bayshore Little League in Tampa as
the world champion. It was the second time the Palma Ceia/Bayshore
league won the Junior League World Series. The first came in 2004, the
year of Hurricane Charley. Eight South/Southeast regional champions have
gone on to win the JLWS, including three from Florida.

Located on the Gulf of Mexico, Corpus Christi is
about 1,277 miles (2,055 kilometers) as the crow flies or more than
1,517 miles (about 26 hours) by car.

How they got here: The Texas West state champions
from Corpus Christi arrived in Taylor with a 13-1 record. They went 9-1
en route to the state title. (Due to the popularity of baseball, there
are two state champions: West and East.) the last four wins came in the
USA Southwest regional tournament in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Oil
Can boys defeated the host team from Albuquerque and the state champs of
Louisiana and New Mexico before taking on the Texas East champs from
Brenham in the finals and winning, 14-0. The Texas East champs had
played in the World Series the last two years. This is the 15th time a
team from Texas is playing in the 32-year history of the JLWS. Teams
from Texas have won the world championship three times. It’s the first
time in Taylor for Corpus Christi.

Located on the Pacific Ocean south of Los Angeles,
Manhattan Beach is 1,982 miles (3,190 kilometers) west of Taylor as the
crow flies. If you drove, it would be a 2,300-mile trip to Taylor that
would take about 36 hours.

How they got here: Team California arrived in Taylor
with a 20-1 record. The Manhattan Beach all-stars went 13-1 en route to
the South California state championship. (There are two state champs in
California.) In the 12-team USA West regional tournament in Vancouver,
Washington, Manhattan Beach was perfect, defeating the host team from
Vancouver and the state champs from Montana, Oregon, Nevada (twice),
Oregon, Washington and Hawaii – with the championship game decided by a
1-0 score. This is the 16th time in the 32-year JLWS history that
California is represented, but it’s the first time for Manhattan Beach.
California teams have won four world titles.

Located 7,696 miles (12,384 kilometers) from Taylor,
Chinese Taipei is located on the other side of the globe from the home
of the Junior League World Series.

How they got here: The Min-De Little League
all-stars arrived in Taylor with a record of 12-1, including a perfect
7-0 mark in the six-nation Asia-Pacific regional tournament held in
Vietnam. The Chinese Taipei national champions defeated other national
champs from the Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Saipan in the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Vietnam in pool play.
They beat Indonesia in the semifinals, 10-1 and took the regional title
in the finals vs. Saipan, 5-1. Chinese Taipei – or Taiwan – has the most
storied history in Little League baseball with 25 appearances in the
Little League World Series for 12-year-olds in Williamsport,
Pennsylvania – and 17 world championships. In 2010 – the first year of
competition for Chinese Taipei at the 13- and 14-year-old level – the
team from Taipei City took the Junior League World Series by storm.
After sweeping the Asia-Pacific region, Chinese Taipei went undefeated
in the JLWS and won the world title by beating Tyler, Texas, in the
finals, 9-1. Last year, Taoyuan, Chinese Taipei, won the International
Pool championship before falling short against world champ Tampa,
Florida, 2-1. The 2009 World Series championship was the first for a
team from the Asia-Pacific region.

Located 1,571 miles (2,528 kilometers) northwest of
Taylor as the crow flies, Calgary is about a 32-hour drive to the Junior
League World Series.

How they got here: The Centennial Little all-stars
arrived in Taylor with a 10-4 record, including a 6-2 mark in the
seven-team Canadian national championship tournament held in Lethbridge,
Alberta. Wins came over the provincial champions of Quebec, Nova Scotia
and Saskatchewan and the host team. Losses came against British
Columbia and Ontario. The Calgary boys defeated the host team from
Lethridge in the semifinals, 17-15, and then stunned Ontario in the
finals, 10-7. This is the 25th year a team from Canada has appeared in
the Junior League World Series. This is the second time the provincial
champion of Alberta has played in Taylor. Edmonton, Alberta, went 1-2 in
the 1989 World Series, which was the second year a Canadian team played
in the event. Canada is seeking its first Junior League world
championship.

How they got here: Italy makes its third appearance
in four years in the Junior League World Series after winning the
11-team Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) region played in Kutno, Poland.
The Lazio teams came here with high hopes after going 7-0 in Poland.
Pool play wins came over the national champions of Poland, Hungary, the
United Kingdom and Moldova. In the quarterfinals, Italy defeated an
American team of military children based in Germany, 11-1. In the
semifinals, Italy ousted a native Germany team, 13-1. And in the finals,
the Lazio all-stars defeated the Czech Republic, 11-8. The European
region has been part of the Junior League World Series since 1990 after
the series expanded to include 14-year-olds in addition to 13-year-olds.
The region later expanded to include teams from the Middle East and
Africa. Most of the visitors to Taylor from this region have been
American military base teams, although other national champions have
been represented as well. Italy first played in Taylor in 2009 and then
again last year.

How they got here: Aruba’s national championship
team had to win the highly competitive 12-team Latin America regional
tournament held in San Jose, Costa Rica. After going 4-0 to win in
Aruba, the all-starts from Oranjestad went 6-1 to win the regional
crown. In pool play, they defeated the national champions of Costa Rica,
Curacao, Nicaragua and Guatemala before falling short against the U.S.
Virgin Islands. In the semifinals, Aruba defeated Puerto Rico, 2-0. In a
rematch with the Virgin Islands team in the finals, Aruba came out on
top, 10-4. Aranjestad is used to being in the spotlight. Last year, the
team played in the Little League World Series for 12-year-olds in
Williamsport, Pennsylvania. This is Oranjestad’s second appearance in
Taylor. In 2009, Aruba won the International championship, but lost in
the world title game to Scottsdale, Arizona, 9-1.

How they got here: Due to the popularity of baseball
in Mexico and Puerto Rico, the national champion of Mexico alternates
automatic berths with the national champion of Puerto Rico. Mexico gets
the invitation in even-numbered years. This is the 19th year that a team
from Mexico is playing in the World Series and the fifth team from
Nuevo Leon. It’s the first time for a team from San Nicolas de Los
Garza. Both Mexico and Puerto Rico used to receive automatic berths.
When the Junior League expanded in 2000 to include 13- and 14-year-olds,
it increased the talent pool and allowed the division to expand and
grow in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, Africa and
other Latin America nations. The Latin America region was formed. More
countries began entering all-star teams in post-season play. Those that
won regional tournaments wanted to be included in the World Series. The
series grew to nine teams, including five regions in the United States
and four in international locations. Then, in 2004, organizers decided
to expand the series to 10 teams with two equal five-team pools. The
team that does not receive an automatic berth – Mexico or Puerto Rico –
still has a chance to qualify for the World Series by winning the Latin
America region.

Note: Profiles may be updated periodically. Please email suggestions and corrections to TaylorNews@aol.com.